Global Travel Collection has partnered with a US start-up company to offer six-hour balloon trips 100,000 feet above the earth costing £104,000pp.
Space Perspective will operate from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and offer the chance to ascend 100,000 feet (30km) above the earth. They are billed as space flights, although space is generally agreed to start at 80km-100km above sea level.
Global Travel Collection has secured spots on three flights, each with eight seats, set to lift off in late 2025.
During the flight, passengers will spend around two hours in orbit before descent and splashdown into the Atlantic.
Onboard Wi-Fi will allow passengers to livestream their flight to friends and family. The capsule, suspended below the balloon, will have room to move around during the flight and includes a bar and toilet.
“We are always looking for new and unique opportunities for our advisors to offer the traveller who has been everywhere,” said Angie Licea, Global Travel Collection president.
“Until now, this historic opportunity has been available only to a select few. I know that many of our clients will want to sign up, and we are thrilled to offer this adventure to them through our partnership with Space Perspective.”
The company claims Spaceship Neptune is the world’s most sustainable spacecraft, as instead of rocket fuel, propulsion is via the 700-foot-tall SpaceBalloon. The first flights are planned for late 2024 and will offer views of 450 miles in any direction.
Space Perspective claims the flights will be carbon neutral, as emissions are offset, the capsule is reused, and the balloon recycled.
“We are one step closer to the edge of space, and I am thrilled that Global Travel Collection is joining us on this out-of-this-world journey,” said Edyta Teper, Space Perspective’s head of global sales-trade partnerships.
“By working through GTC travel advisors, clients will have an opportunity for early access to these one-of-a-kind spaceflights and gain a previously unimaginable perspective on planet earth that will stay with them long after they return home.”
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